A question about dessert after dinner concerning children?

In your family, do you always let your children have dessert after dinner? I have a 6 year old that is obsessed with food. She plans out what sweets she will have after dinner and talks about food constantly. This bothers me. My husband's family has always thought dessert for children was a requirement after... show more In your family, do you always let your children have dessert after dinner? I have a 6 year old that is obsessed with food. She plans out what sweets she will have after dinner and talks about food constantly. This bothers me. My husband's family has always thought dessert for children was a requirement after dinner, I always disagreed. My daughter's attitude towards food has proven my worries to be true. I'm thinking about stopping dessert after dinner all together unless I bake something special with my daughter or special occasions. I have a 1 year old son who I want to raise in a healthier fashion and he's always watching what the older child gets after dinner. I'd like to stop this focus on food. I'm worried that my son will be the same way. How do you do it in your family? I've always argued with my husband about this and now that I've seen the way my daughter is with food, I'd like to put my foot down and create a healthier focus. Please let me know you do things. :)

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Best Answer: I wouldn't attack her enthusiam. You could have a potential great chef in the woodwork.

But "curb" it. Make desert fruit and yogart, or whole oat cookies, carrot cake. If she doesn't like it play with the recipes till she does. All people can change their taste buds by changing their diet. I can't eat processed sugar foods anymore since I was in Africa.

For the rarer richer desserts have smaller portions and teach her the polite way to savor them by taking small bites.

Mary Poppins taught me that with the element of fun,
"Snap! the job's a game."

As long as your daughter is not overweight, and if dessert is the only sweet she gets throughout the day I see nothing wrong with it.

You should however, make sure it's healthy and if possible prepare it from scratch, reducing the recipe size to half. That way, she gets dessert that's really more of a taste than a full course.

When I do have desserts around, I allow my children one small portion and when it's gone, it's gone. Husband has a sweet tooth too, so it's hard to say no when he's picking around for himself. Both of my children are a healthy weight and otherwise very good eaters.

Its great that your children have a healthy appetite, but I personally don't think desert every night is necessary, especially for young children. Its proven that eating before bead adds to weight gain, not to mention eating sweets...LOL. Sweet food is full of carbs and sugar, They don't get burnt off while we are sleeping and sugar in dessert also adds to children not getting a sound sleep like they should.
Milk stimulates the part of our brain that helps us sleep, so do bananas, and they are good for you. Try giving the children warm milk with a little honey and a banana for dessert and not too close to bed, or some fruit and custard some thing light that is still nutritious. Also getting rid of all sugary desserts off your shopping list all together will help, if its not there they cant eat it and they wont be tempted by it. Try to focus more on yogurts' you can get the one with one side fruit or musily and thry tip it in the yogurt and stir it up, little vanilla or cho puddings' the cold custard type ones thet are in portions, fruit salad, muffins and yogurt they will have fun making both and eating them!! Good luck Hope I helped.

Anonymous · 1 decade ago

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How about aiming her towards healthier desserts? Instead of cookies and cakes, how about applesauce, fruit cups and even Jello. It would be a good compromise with your husband and a way to get her excited about eating healtier foods. Sweets can be for special occasions like holidays and birthdays.

If your kids are not picking up extra weight then dont curb their enthusiasim for food. My friends kids can eat like trojan horses and still remain thin and she never holds back on food however she does keep it healthy. Desert can be healthy too like some of the answers you have got . Healthy snack bars can also be served as desert. THeyre already used to and looking forwards to their desert - taking it away now will come across as a punishment. Make sure you always have a bowl of fruit at their disposal (24 hrs) fruit also contributes to satisfying their craving for sweet things.

Anonymous · 1 decade ago

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I know the feeling. Controlling my kids diet is an uphill battle. I try to be flexible but I stick to some basic rules-

1. If they don't eat at least most of the main course there is no pudding.

2. We don't automatically have pudding. It depends on what is for the main course.

3. I try to make pudding healthy too. Like fruit with a small amount of ice cream to make it look like a treat.

We eat desert about once a week. I definitely think every night is way too much. It's a lot of extra calories that you don't need - a bad habit to break! Maybe if all she wants is something sweet, you could give her a bowl of berries with milk, or make a fruit yogurt smoothie together. You are right - you need to start healthy habits now, they'll stick for life.

i could no longer relatively understand no remember if this exchange into at your place or on the homestead of the youngster and his mom. If it exchange into her homestead or all people else's to boot yours, then there's no longer something you're able to do approximately her permissiveness together with her baby. If it exchange into your place, your mom might have instructed the female that no person is permitted to have dessert first, alongside with little ones and that the female might prefer to take her youngster someplace else to furnish him dessert. and particularly, in case you and your mom are annoyed by potential of those people, i might end putting around them. pass away that woman to advance a monster who will probable land up in detention center until now he even turns 18.

You know your child better than anyone. Doing the right thing is doing what you feel is right. It's just trial and error.
My family has a lot of opinions, and sometimes you just have to put your foot down. If hubby fam has a problem with that, just say that your comfortable with your own approach, and that you'd appreciate if they would understand that. Good luck!